


Animal Magnetism

by szczepter



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pet Store, M/M, extreme amounts of cheese
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 05:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6106066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/szczepter/pseuds/szczepter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kagami doesn't even like dogs!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Animal Magnetism

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aphelion_orion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aphelion_orion/gifts).



> this fic is enterily the dault of dear aphelion, who is so kind enough to entertain me with headcanons when I'm at work and idk I felt inspired enough to write this super quickly.

It's raining buckets (or is raining cats and dogs a better fitting description) when Taiga runs home from a late night street ball game with Himuro, obviously forgetting his umbrella _again,_  when he hears it.

By all means he shouldn’t. It's raining hard and the streets are busy, that he shouldn't, but there it is, the unmistakable whimper and a whine.

Taiga stops in his tracks and listens.

There it is again.

He follows the noise into a smelly, dark alley where it starts getting louder. He takes out his phone and turns on the flashlight because he can’t see squat and then promptly yells and almost drops the phone when he sees a cardboard box with a flimsy cover and a miserable ball of white and black fur.

It's a freaking _dog_.

Of all the things, it had to be a dog.

Taiga is about to leave when the fur ball lets out a pathetically broken whine, curling into itself and shivering from the cold.

He looks at the dog with an accusing expression. It’s raining harder and harder by the second, and he is seriously getting cold here, freezing his ass off and debating with himself.

The dog lets out another whine.

Oh for crying out loud.

"I hate my life." Kagami grumbles as he lifts the box. It’s so wet from the rain, it is barley a box at this point. It would probably be easier to just take the dog but, haha no way in hell is doing that.

The walk to his apartment is short, but they still end soaked to the bone.

Kagami lets the dog into his house and throw a used towel in its direction. The puppy (he only now notices that it is in fact a puppy) shakes off the excess if water on Kagami's floor and trots happily to the warm towel where the proceeds to roll around.

Kagami grumbles something and goes to the fridge. He has some leftover meat, it would be enough for such a small dog probably.

He sets the bow down and the puppy barks happily and tries jumping and headbutt his hand.

"Ugh." Kagami tries really hard not to freak out but he has a   _dog_ in his house.

He couldn't leave it though. It would probably die or something.

When he finishes showering, the dog is fast asleep in the old towel, so Taiga decides not to try and disturb him.

He looks up animal shelters and veterinaries in his neighborhood.

There is one, very close by, it had good reviews, but it is closed already.

Well then he would just have to go tomorrow. He needed to find a box. And close his bedroom door.

* * *

 

Unfortunately, he couldn't go there right away, as he in fact _didn't_ have a box to take the dog in and _no way_ in hell he was going to carry him. Nope.

So searching for any semblance of a box or something (Granted he could use his backpack, but yeah no dogs allowed there either. What if he peed there?), took some time.

That and Alex wanted him to run a few (dozen) errands for her, and he couldn't actually leave the dog at home (What if he peed _there_?), so he arrived at the pet store/veterinary clinic barely before its closing time.

He entered the store and then a blur passed him quickly on his way to the door.

"Uh, help?"

"Oh!" The guy stopped and looked over his shoulder blinking.

"I have this dog and-"

"Kuroko!" The guy called into the store, effectively cutting him off. "One last customer for you!" He said and then gave Kagami an apologetic grin. "Shift ended. Sorry man." He said and waved to him, quickly running out of the store.

Taiga was left to stand there, confused until someone spoke softly behind him, making him jump.

"Can I help you?"

Kagami whirled around, jolting the puppy and making him whine.

The man, young, around twenty with downy blue hair and big blue eyes immediately focused all his attention on the animal.

"Is he hurt?"

"Uh? I don't...know?" Taiga offered, but the boy was quickly picking up the puppy and carrying him off to the backroom. Kagami figured he should explain the whole story so he followed.

The guy, Kuroko was written on the tag as he noticed, set the dog gently on the table and started looking him over, his nose, teeth, eyes, ears and looking for injuries on his body.

"He seems to be fine...mostly." He said when he paused while looking through the dog’s ears. "His ears seem to be lightly infected. Please hold him down."

"What?"

"Please hold him down, I need to give him a shot and clean his ears."

"Uh." Kagami stepped up to the table and gently grasped the small body and waited for Kuroko to proceed.

"All done." He said when he was finished and gently pet the dog behind an ear. He smiled when the puppy turned his head and nosed at his palm and then licked it affectionately.

"It was very smart to bring him here." He finally addressed Kagami. "I'll give you medication for your dog and some general tips how to care for his ears. He's fairly young and in relatively good health, but you still need to take better care of him."

"It's not my dog!" Kagami finally blurted out. Kuroko merely blinked.

"I uh, I found him yesterday....it was raining so I took him home....but I don't really like dogs." He mumbled the last part. "And I can't keep it!"

"Hmm, I see." Kuroko mused and then offered him a small smile. "You're a very kind person."

Kagami felt his cheeks heat up.

"Kagami. Kagami Taiga." He extended his hand. Kuroko grinned and shook it.

"Kuroko Tetsuya. But really now, the puppy needs a place to stay..."

_Oh no no, no, you're not guilt tripping me into taking the goddamn dog home. And don't make those eyes at me Jesus Christ, they are the same??_

"Pardon?"

Kagami only now realized that he spoke the last part out loud.

"Uhhh..He sort of looks...like you?" He gestured vaguely to the dog. Kuroko tilted his head and holy shit the dog did the same.

"If you say so..." Kuroko sighed. "Well I guess I will need to make a post on our website and find you a new home." He petted the dog gently and spoke softly to it like it was human.

"Yeah, you do that." Kagami offered a sheepish smile. "Sorry for causing you trouble though."

Kuroko shook his head.

"It's no problem. We do this all the time, we just never had dogs here before."

Kagami nodded.

"Alright, I'll be going then." He said and awkwardly shuffled in the direction of the door.

"Alright. But."

Kuroko's tone made him stop.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you want to name him?"

"Me?"

"Yes. Since you found him. And I need to put something on the tag and in the post."

Kagami shrugged. He didn't mind but he really never had a pet in his life, and he was crap at naming things.

He looked at the dog and then at Kuroko. They both looked eerily similar, same eyes and same expression. It looked like it was a dog version of Kuroko or Kuroko was a human version of the dog. Like Kuroko number one and number two.

Wait.

"Kagami-kun?"

"Yeah, I can name him."

Kuroko looked patiently expectant, holding the puppy and showering it in affection.

"How about...Nigou?" Kagami said and felt his ears go pink.

* * *

 

Despite that he left the dog in probably the best pair of hands he knew, he couldn't stop worrying about the fur ball.

Was he healthy? Was he eating well? Was he sleeping? And most importantly, why the hell he even cared in the first place? He had it for like a day and a half. It's wasn't possible to get attached to a dog that fast right? Besides he _hated_ dogs. Really, truly hated them.

And that's why he was going to check up on the mutt and see how he was doing.

Wait what?

Taiga didn't know when his traitor brain told his traitor legs to move into the direction of the veterinary but yep here he was.

He didn't notice him at first, but after a few moments of looking, he found Kuroko by the fish tank.

Kagami coughed awkwardly, trying to catch Kuroko's attention.

"Oh. Kagami-kun. Hello."

"Hi."

"How may I help you?"

Kagami made a face. He felt foolish for coming here, but he was a worrywart at heart and well, he might hate dogs, but he could at least know what was happening with Nigou, right?

"I wanted to check up on Nigou." He said and shrugged not looking at the other boy. "He okay? I uh, don't see him?"

"Oh, Nigou's not here Kagami-kun."

"Oh. Did he get adopted?" He couldn't believe he sounded disappointed. Sure the dog might have found a good home and all, but it was sort of his only reason to come here.

Not that he wanted to come here. He didn't even like animals that much.

Kuroko gave him a small smile.

Yeah, no, he didn't really like animals. Not _animals_.

"Yes."

Damn it.

"By who?"

"By me."

What?

"What? Really?"

"Yes." Kuroko said with a smile. "He was so cute I couldn’t leave him, I always wanted to have a dog."

Kagami felt tension drop from his shoulders.

"Wh-where is he?"

"I left him with my friend. He's a pet sitter."

"A what?" Kagami laughed suddenly and then promptly stopped when Kuroko pouted.

"A pet sitter. A professional that takes care of your pets for money when you're busy. Though calling Ogiwara-kun a professional might be a bit too much. He's very good with dogs though and gave me a discount."

"Ah, okay. So he's good right?"

"Yes. I assume you wanted to check up on him?

Kagami nodded.

"Well. I might keep him around next time. He seems like a very well behaved dog. And I do get a bit lonely here where Takao-kun isn't on his shift, which happens a lot."

Kagami nodded and followed Kuroko with his gaze all the while he was talking to and taking care of all the animals, cleaning their cages, feeding them, checking if they were comfortable and occasionally petting some of them.

"Ah, it's not necessary."

"It's not a problem. You can visit him whenever you want. I work from nine to five, sometimes I take over hours."

Kagami nodded dumbly. Wow, okay.

"Okay. I need to go now uh, class and stuff."

Kuroko nodded, not looking at him while he feed a pair of green and yellow parrots.

"Alright. I'll see you around Kagami-kun."

* * *

 

And yeah boy did he saw him 'around.'

Taiga made a point to visit the dog and ask Kuroko how he was doing almost every day. Somewhere along they swapped phone numbers and emails too.

Only that he visited the veterinary even when he knew the dog _wouldn't_ be there, because Kuroko told him that beforehand.

So after a month, Taiga couldn't pretend anymore that he did it for the fur ball. Sure he wasn't afraid of him anymore and he might have thought that he was sort of cute, but he couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room. With pretty blue eyes.

Honestly he was more like a bunny. Or a puppy himself.

Damn it.

"Good morning Kagami-kun."

"Hi."

"Woof!"

"Nigou is very happy to see you."

Kagami snorted and knelt down to scratch the dog behind an ear.

It was slow day at the pet store, so he didn't think Kuroko would mind him much. Since it was a Saturday it meant Kuroko was on his own, because Takao had to visit his family in the country.

Kuroko said he didn't mind staying alone and taking care of the animals on his own, since Takao-kun had very short attention span. He loved animals as well, but he could be clumsy and careless when dealing with them.

Speaking of the animals. Christ, this was _unreal_. Kagami had never in his life met a person so adored by everything that was furry, scaly or feathery. Even Tatsuya, whose natural charm made him likable enough for both animals and people, couldn't compare. Kuroko was a freaking magnet!

Kagami watched him enough times, to memorize the pattern and to give himself a serious case of heartburn and flaming face syndrome.

The scene would go like this.

Kuroko started from cleaning the cages and terrariums of the rodents. Mice and Hamsters would refuse to stay put in small cardboard boxes and wait for their homes to be cleaned. Instead they would immediately hop into the pockets of Kuroko's apron with the logo of the pet store. If they couldn't fit there, they would perch on his shoulders and squirm their little noses and tickle his cheeks from time to time.

Birds acted similar. There were a number of colorful parrots, which would sit on Kuroko's shoulders as well. Some more 'rowdy' ones, like canaries would perch comfortably in the nest made out of his fluffy hair. They also refused to eat from their small bottles or bowls and _had_ to be handfed.

Bunnies and rabbits, if they could, would probably say something along the lines of 'pay attention to me!!!" as they stood on their hind legs whenever he passed their cot.

And Kuroko never kept them locked in the cages either. All of them were open, so the animals could roam freely, but they always came to him when he called them.

_All_ of them. Even the fish and turtles.

There was also a small kitten, put up for adoption, Kuroko told him. Her name was Mimi and Kagami was positive she was in love with Kuroko. She always meowed loudly when she saw him and had to be carried almost all the freaking time. But when he tried to per her she scratched him! She hissed at anyone, but was docile and sweet when Kuroko fed her from a bottle like a goddamn baby.

This was insane.

Who did that? Disney princesses?

Not to mention, they all quieted down whenever Kuroko was on the phone or talking to a customer and the animals got a little too rowdy. He just looked at the culprit, put his index finger to his lips and did a 'shhh' sound and viola. The animal went silent, merely tilting his head in confusion.

It was like he was mind controlling them. Or maybe he could speak their language. Who knew? Point is, it was very detrimental to Kagami himself, and he decided to do something about it finally.

"Hey, Kuroko. Do you want to sort of, maybe, kind of hang out with me next week on Saturday?"

Oh god. He couldn't believe he actually, finally said that.

He was going to die of mortification.

Maybe he could play it off as a casual meeting? Invite some friends or something?

Kuroko blinked.

"Are you asking me out Kagami-kun?"

"Yes!"

So much for that. Okay maybe Kuroko would say no, because he's busy. Or something.

He didn't expect the slow, sweet smile that appeared on Kuroko's face after a moment and okay, maybe the atmosphere was getting into him, because he could frigging hear _the doves_ from behind him coo happily at him. And then.

"I would like that yes."

Oh screw him.

* * *

 

"Are you kidding me?!"

Alright, so maybe this wasn't the best greeting that one could say to their really cute date, and okay holy hell he looked super cute, but also he had a dog with him?

Kuroko merely raised an eyebrow.

"Hello to you too Kagami-kun."

Taiga instantly felt like the world's biggest jerk.

"Uh, yeah hi. You look nice."

Pause.

"Why did you take the dog with you?"

Kuroko blinked confused.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I wasn't supposed to? You said to meet up at the park, so I thought we would go for a walk."

Kagami sighed. Admittedly it was his fault for not being clear enough or dropping enough hints as to where they were going. He took off his backpack and rummaged for a moment, producing two tickets and offering them to Kuroko.

The boy's eyes turned into saucers.

"Oh."

"Yeah. We're going to the movies. Or at least we were supposed to go to the movies." He eyed Nigou who was calmly scratching himself behind the ear with his hind leg.

"You could have told me." Kuroko sounded more guilty than accusing.

"Yeah, well. I wanted it to be a surprise."

He stuck his hands into his trouser pockets.

"Now what?"

Kuroko looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke.

"Kagami-kun do you carry anything in your backpack?"

"No why?"

"May I have it for a moment?

Confused, Kagami took the red backpack from his back and handed it to Kuroko. The boy unzipped it and knelt down.

"Come on Nigou."

The dog made a curious sound, sniffed the bag and stepped inside. Kagami watched, completely speechless.

Kuroko zipped the bag, leaving a decent opening so the dog could peek outside, then stood up and put it on.

"Wh-wait! You can't just smuggle a dog into the theater!"

"Nigou will behave. Right Nigou?"

"Arf!"

"Shh Nigou."

"arf."

Kagami was still stunned when Kuroko nudged him into the direction of the theater.

"I can't believe it." He mumbled. "If they find out because the mutt can't behave, I am leaving you."

Kuroko pouted.

"Nigou is not a mutt. He is a full breed Alaskan Malamute. They are very noble dogs, that grow up even to be almost two meters in height and weight over hundred kilograms."

"What?"

"Don't worry though." He said and something _evil_ twinkled in his eye. "Nigou is still a puppy. You still have a year or so."

"A year for what?!"

"Oh we're here."

Yes, indeed they reached the theater. Kagami bought snacks for himself and an extra soda for Kuroko who thanked him politely.

The dog really behaved. He was probably asleep for the most part and kept quiet, so no one noticed.

Unlike his owner though. Seriously, Kagami never expected that a documentary about freaking _giraffes_ would make someone that happy.

And boy did Kuroko looked (and sounded happy).

Kagami may or may not discreetly check the prices of entrances to the aquarium and the schedule of the zoo.

It was totally not creepy to plan a second date before the first one ended right?

"Thank you Kagami-kun. I loved the movie." Kuroko said as they were exiting.

"Yeah. It was cool. You should probably let him out now though."

Kuroko nodded and knelt on the ground when they were considerably away from the entrance and let Nigou out of the backpack.

"Here you go Nigou."

"Arf!"

"Where to now?"

"I was thinking we could go grab something to eat?"

"That sounds nice." Kuroko nodded.

"And." Kagami said. "If you're up for it we could dunno, buy some bread or whatever and feed the ducks in the nearby park."

Kuroko looked up at him and then chuckled.

"What!?"

"You know I like other things, not just animals."

Kagami felt himself flush.

"I know that! I just...don't know what...yet."

"I like basketball."

"What? Really?"

"Yes. We can go play after we eat if you're interested."

"Hell yeah I am!"

"And, I'm sure Nigou loves basketball as well."

Kagami snorted.

"Yeah. Right. Like he could do anything. Look at him. He's a midget!"

"Arf!" Nigou barked accusingly at Kagami.

"Remember Kagami-kun. Alaskan Malamute. Two meters and over hundred kilograms. In a year. I need to show you pictures."

"I hate you both."

A little shit of a boyfriend with a hellhound: it was possibly the worst combo _ever_.

Kuroko just laughed and stood on his tiptoes to peck him on the cheek.

Yeah, well. He'll live.


End file.
